Pentacene Orientation on Source/Drain Electrodes and Its Effect on Charge Carrier Transport at Pentacene/Electrode Interface, Investigated Using In Situ Ultraviolet Photoemission Spectroscopy and Device Characteristics

The valence band structures and ionization energies of pentacene layers grown on poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polymerized with poly (4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) and Au electrodes were characterized using in situ ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. The pentacene layers grown on Au films consist of amorphous phase and round oval grains regardless of the pentacene deposition temperature, whereas the pentacene deposited on PEDOT: PSS films showed highly distinctive ordered structures depending on the deposition conditions. The pentacene layer (thickness: 30 nm) grown on PEDOT:PSS at room temperature (RT) showed a highly crystalline thin film phase (001) and typical terrace-like structure, but that grown on PEDOT:PSS at 100 degrees C consists of a weakly oriented thin film/bulk mixed phase with a disordered grain structure. However, irrespective of the molecular ordering structure, the pentacene layers grown on PEDOT:PSS films showed nearly the same hole-injection barriers (0.40 similar to 0.45 eV) at both interface (10 nm) and bulk regions (30 nm). On the basis of the correlation between the molecular ordering and device characteristics, we conclude that the carrier transport at pentacene/electrode interface relies more on the hole-injection barrier than on the ordering of the pentacene layer grown on the electrode. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.